Tag Archives: Drama

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion (2014)

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“Star Wars Rebels” is something that “The Clone Wars” wasn’t. It’s fun. It’s also simple, and about regular people for once. After so many years of writers focusing on military junk, “Rebels” is about regular outlaws and thieves, all with a hint of “Firefly.” Set after “Revenge of the Sith,” the writers focus on the after effects of the Imperial take over where the galaxy is disbanded and everyone are pretty much in it for themselves. “Rebels” is set before an important milestone in the “Star Wars” timeline. It’s when the seeds of rebellion were planted, and seems to be a show intent on focusing on how the famous rebellion was built and became a force against the Empire that would set the stage for folks like Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo to become heroes.

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Fire in the Sky (1993)

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Director Robert Lieberman’s horror drama has a lot going for it, one of which is the immense dread that drips from every minute of the film. We’re never quite sure what occurred to character Travis Walton in the woods, and why he was abducted by Extraterrestrials, but I was very interested in finding out how the various sub-plots would fare. Sure, “Fire in the Sky” is a very loose adaptation of the original abduction accounts, but it works as a horror film that side steps awe inducing UFO sighting. There’s not even much of a focus on the abduction of Travis Walton.

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Stranded (1987)

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“What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s got tits and a ray gun.”

I’d be lying if I said “Stranded” has aged well, but then I’d also be lying if I denied loving it mostly based on nostalgia. “Stranded” is a childhood favorite I recall borrowing a billion times from my cousin and loved every minute of it. Today it’s still a solid science fiction horror film, but one filled with flaws. Surely, it mixes “ET” with “The Desperate Hours,” but its charms are undeniable. And it’s tough to hate anything with Ione Skye. There’s just no arguing that.

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Dark Skies (2013)

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Your attitude toward “Dark Skies” depends on whether or not you want to see a remake of “Signs.” In reality, the entire movie is one big reworking of the M. Night movie sans the religious overtones. There’s the disjointed family, the bonded siblings, the static laden communication devices, the doe eyed youngster who can sense the aliens, the barking family dog, and there’s even an awkward dinner where the dad begins sharing stories about his children. And yet, despite the obvious derivations from the aforementioned M. Night film, I really enjoyed “Dark Skies” through the very end.

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Grave Halloween (2013) (DVD)

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gravehalloweenSee kids, that’s why whenever you want to honor someone’s memory, sometimes a symbolic ceremony works better than getting lost in woods haunted by demons. You don’t always have to do what dreams tell you to. Despite some flaws in the narrative though, “Grave Halloween” is a solid horror film. It’s a little bit of “Evil Dead,” and a little bit of “Blair Witch” thrown together for a pretty entertaining ersatz Asian horror picture. Albeit one that’s only given the Halloween tag because character Maiko has to commit the ceremony Segaki for her mother, which happens to fall on Halloween.

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Disaster L.A.: The Last Zombie Apocalypse Begins Here (2014) [Blu-Ray]

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“Disaster L.A.” actually seems to be going for something in its prologue and set up. It props itself up as a disaster film with zombies thrown in for good measure, and for the most part the big doomsday event is grim and creepy. Then the writers completely switch to auto drive unfolding a movie that’s just a shameless regurgitation of “Cloverfield.” The hero of our tale is having a party before said big event, his ex-girlfriend shows up with her new boyfriend, they bicker, she leaves, big event, and now boyfriend pledges to go across the city to find her as the military threatens nuclear strikes. There’s even the tragic brother dynamic like the aforementioned film. It’s sad considering this is from the director of “State of Emergency” which I actually loved.

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How to Build a Better Boy (2014)

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Disney seems to be having a good time mining the eighties lately with their original movies. First we had “Zapped!” which took the title from the raunchy eighties comedy along with a variation of the plot from “Love Potion No. 9,” while “How to…” is really just “Weird Science 3.0.” Except this time its PG rated, and much more based around feminism than misogyny. And rather than building on the entire “Frankenstein” idea, the writers set their sights on the US government surveillance and their plans to build a top secret robot that can infiltrate any setting.

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